One of the consequences of moving recently has been a falling off on the writing schedule. (Apologies to those who thought I was getting the serialized story from this blog out as an e-book this Spring. It is still happening. It had to be delayed a bit.) I have gotten the chance to sit down and actually write a few thousand words lately, but any “schedule” I may have tried to keep has gotten shredded and tossed in the recycling. I sat down this weekend to try and come up with a new set of goals. Yeah, well…
One of the things I discovered is that I not only got lost on the writing, but I lost my sense of what and how long. What I mean is, I have some goals, both short and long term, and those haven’t really changed much. What I seem to have lost is any sense of how long it will take to get this or that done, so setting a concrete goal of “finish XXX by the end of Whenever” is more difficult. For now, I think I am going to fall back on figuring if I want this piece to finish out at so many words, and I set a goal to write this many words a day (or a week for some things), then it should take me that many days (or weeks) to finish. And for revisions, if I revise a chapter (or section) a day, then it will take me x days to get to the end. At least it will give me some goals to shoot for. And, of course, that doesn’t take into consideration the effect others may have on some things (cover design, beta reads, edits, that sort of thing). But at least it will give me some targets. Yes, in case you haven’t figured it out before this, I need specifics. I am not very good at floundering about without a target in sight. The organizational part of my brain would freeze up. I am sure that is why I tend to be more of an outliner that a discovery writer.
I don’t know where that leaves me for the next few months. I need to sit down and make some decisions, and do some calculating, and take a good look at what I have in the pipeline. I don’t think it will take too long, now that I have an idea of how to approach it. Then, I should have a better idea what I will be doing for at least the next few months.
I think.
I hope.
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Available now:
After five years away, Kaili is coming home for the ceremony to install her sister as head of the family business. When an old rivalry threatens the family, Kaili and her partner need to use all their skills to save the sisters’ lives. Learn more here.
A collection of six short fantasy stories set in varied worlds of magic and mayhem. Learn more here.
A short novelette set in a dystopian Earth after the final envinronmental collapse. Sam is a genetically engineered chameleon who may hold the key to mankind’s survival. Learn more here.
And So On... 